Veteran Ohio political insiders on pot team

Ohioans for Medical Marijuana named as its campaign manager Brandon Lynaugh, a veteran political consultant who worked against the last legal weed issue.

“We’re excited to have Brandon at the helm of our Ohio campaign,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, in a written statement. MPP is a national group backing the Ohio campaign. “His extensive experience with ballot issues and his history of standing up for Ohioans make him the right person to lead our team. He is committed to establishing a sensible, fair, and compassionate medical marijuana program that will benefit countless seriously ill Ohio residents.”

Also joining the OMM team are Trevor Vessels as deputy campaign manager, Lee Roberts as political director and Aaron Marshall as communications director. Vessels is a GOP operative with 15 years experience. Roberts is a Democrat who served in the former Columbus mayor’s administration. Marshall is a former Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter who recently worked as a speech writer for Ohio State University President Michael Drake.

Ohioans for Medical Marijuana hit the streets this month to collect valid signatures from 306,000 registered Ohio voters by July 6 to qualify for the November ballot. The group is proposing a constitutional amendment to legalize and regulate marijuana for medical use.